Power BI won't open issue with WebView2 runtime

[Jmwangi_PowerB]

My power BI desktop won't open but giving me this error message, "unable to automatically install webview2 install now". When I click on install now, it then generates the following error message, 'Microsoft edge webview2 is already installed for this system'. Now I have tried uninstalling webview2 and ensured all it's remaining files are not in drive C but when I try to reinstall it again it says it's already in my system and Power BI still won't open. Please help anyone?

I uninstalled WebView2 and checked my drive C for all remaining files but whenever I attempt an install it gives this same error message

[Anonymous]

Hi @Jmwangi_PowerB ,

Please try：

1. Uninstall Power BI Desktop: Go to "Control Panel" -> "Programs" -> "Uninstall a program" and uninstall Power BI Desktop from your system.

2. Uninstall Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime: Open "Control Panel" -> "Programs" -> "Uninstall a program" and uninstall Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime from your system if it's listed.

3. Manually remove remaining WebView2 files: Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following locations, then delete any remaining WebView2 files if present:

   • C:\Windows\System32\edgeWebView2.dll

   • C:\Windows\SysWOW64\edgeWebView2.dll

4. Download and install the latest version of Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime: Go to the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime download page (https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/) and download the latest version compatible with your operating system. Install it on your system.

5. Reinstall Power BI Desktop: After the WebView2 Runtime installation, download the latest version of Power BI Desktop from the official Microsoft website and install it.

6. Restart your computer: Restart your computer to ensure all changes are applied.

7. Launch Power BI Desktop: Try launching Power BI Desktop again and see if the issue is resolved.

My power BI desktop and webview2 install error - Microsoft Community

You may also try ：

Resolve startup issues with Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best regards.
Community Support Team_Caitlyn

[Jmwangi_PowerB]

@Anonymous Appreciate your response however I already attempted that. There's no trace of WebView2 runtime in both C:\Windows\System32\edgeWebView2.dll or C:\Windows\SysWOW64\edgeWebView2.dll after uninstalling it. But then when I try to reinstall it still gives me the error message that WebView2 is already installed in my system. I don't get it.